Manually operated condiment dispensers are commonly used in restaurants, food stands and in commercial food preparation applications to dispense ketchup, mustard, etc. Known dispensers include manually operable pumps for dispensing condiments from a container through a spout. Typically, a single pump stroke dispenses a pre-determined amount of condiment equal to a single serving size portion.
While the invention is useful in dispensing many types of viscous fluids, the invention is especially useful in dispensing condiments, which are commonly served in quick service restaurants and hot dog stands. These condiments include ketchup, mustard, cheese sauce, mayonnaise, tartar sauce and the like which a consumer typically places on food products. However, the invention is not only useful for the dispensing of condiments, but is also useful to the dispensing of fluids in general. For purposes of this discussion, “fluid” is defined as any material or substance that changes shape or direction uniformly in response to an external force imposed on it and applies not only to liquids, but also to finely divided solids and solids generally suspended in a carrier. For illustrative purposes, the dispensing of condiments will be discussed.
At sports stadiums and other mass-attendance public events, food products like hot dogs and hamburgers may be sold to consumers who then take the purchased food products to one or more condiment dispensing stations. These dispensing stations are often subject to a high degree of use due to the relatively large number of consumers who use the dispensing station on any given day or number of days. Since the dispensing stations are subject to a high level of use, they must be durable and preferably of simple design so that operation is intuitive and maintenance can be easily and efficiently achieved.
Many viscous fluid dispensers consist of a piston displacement pump and a dispensing spout. In order to operate these types of condiment dispensers, the user must engage the pump handle with direct downward force. The force required to push down on the pump handles often poses problems to children who lack sufficient strength to properly operate the devices. In addition, the pump handles are typically employed on top of a dispensing container away from the dispensing aperture. This requires the user to hold a condiment receptacle or food item closely underneath the dispensing aperture in one hand while actuating the pump located some distance from the aperture with the other hand as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,746 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,932. These dispensers are not only difficult to manipulate, but they also increase the risk that liquid will spill onto the floor or countertop, as the user must concentrate on the pump instead of the liquid pouring out of the end. Reaching over with one hand also brings the user in closer contact with the dispensing end, increasing the risk that liquid will spill on the user's clothing, especially when the dispensing end is moving, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,932.
A further requirement of a fluid dispenser of this general type is that it must be able to be field stripped without any special tools. This is an important requirement for commercial food service businesses since equipment must be cleaned on a regular basis to meet health and other government requirements. The patents noted above pay no special attention to the ability to be field stripped.